UC Irvine Health has earned The Joint Commission’s
Gold Seal of Approval® for its hip and knee joint replacement
programs by demonstrating compliance with the organization’s
national standards for health care quality and safety in disease-specific
care.

UC Irvine Health underwent a rigorous on-site review in May.
A Joint Commission expert evaluated the programs for compliance
with
standards of care specific to the needs of patients and families,
including infection prevention and control, leadership and medication
management.

The commitment to these standards is reflected in the
UC Irvine Health Joint Replacement Surgical Home. Developed at
UC Irvine
Medical Center, this model coordinates the roles of orthopaedic
surgeons, anesthesiologists and nursing staff before, during and
after surgery to ensure that patients receive the most efficient
and comprehensive care available. The surgical home model has measurable
standards for perioperative care and ensures that potential improvements
are identified and incorporated into the program.

"The ability to achieve such high level of care and patient
satisfaction is only possible due to the dedication and hard
work put in daily
by our joint replacement surgical home team,” said Ran
Schwarzkopf, MD, assistant clinical professor, UC Irvine Health Department of
Orthopaedic Surgery and head of the hip
and knee surgery service. “It
is this team work that allows us to be a center of excellence in
total hip and knee replacement surgery."

The Joint Commission’s
Disease-Specific Care Certification Program, launched in 2002,
is designed to evaluate clinical programs
across the continuum of care. Certification requirements address
three core areas: compliance with consensus-based national standards;
effective use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to
manage and optimize care; and an organized approach to performance
measurement and improvement activities.

"In achieving Joint Commission certification, UC Irvine
Health has demonstrated its commitment to the highest level of
care for its
patients undergoing knee or hip joint replacement," says Jean
Range, M.S., R.N., C.P.H.Q. executive director, Disease-Specific
Care Certification, The Joint Commission. “Certification
is a voluntary process and I commend UC Irvine Health for successfully
undertaking this challenge to elevate its standard of care and
instill confidence in the community it serves.”

About The
Joint Commission: Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission
seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration
with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations
and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care
of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates
and accredits more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs
in the United States, including more than 10,600 hospitals and
home care organizations, and more than 6,600 other health care
organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care,
laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission also
certifies more than 2,400 disease-specific care programs such as
stroke, heart failure, joint replacement and stroke rehabilitation,
and 400 health care staffing services. An independent, not-for-profit
organization, The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest
standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more
about The Joint Commission at http://www.jointcommission.org.

UC
Irvine Health comprises the clinical, medical education and
research enterprises of the University of California, Irvine. Patients
can access UC Irvine Health at physician offices throughout Orange
County and at its main campus, UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange,
Calif., a 412-bed acute care hospital that provides tertiary and
quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, behavioral
health and rehabilitation. U.S. News & World Report has listed
it among America’s Best Hospitals for 13 consecutive years.
UC Irvine Medical Center features Orange County’s only National
Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk
perinatal/neonatal program, Level I trauma center and Level II
pediatric trauma center, and is the primary teaching hospital for
UC Irvine School of Medicine. UC Irvine Health serves a region
of more than 3 million people in Orange County, western Riverside
County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.